§1703. Powers of the board

A. The said board shall have the power to regulate the commerce and traffic of said district in such manner as may in its judgment be best for the public interest; it shall have and enjoy all the rights, privileges and immunities granted to corporations in Louisiana; it shall be empowered to own and have charge of, to administer, construct, operate and maintain wharves, warehouses, landings, docks, sheds, belt and connection railroads, shipways, canals, channels, slips, basins, locks, elevators and other structures and facilities necessary and proper for the use and development of the business of such district, including buildings and equipment for the accommodation of passengers and those used in the handling, storage, transportation and delivery of freight, express and mail; it may construct, acquire, extend, improve, maintain and operate such storm protection levees and protective levee and drainage facilities, without reference to whether the land within the district drains by gravity or requires drainage by leveeing and pumping, as may in its judgment be necessary or useful to protect or develop the port, harbor and terminal facilities within its territorial jurisdiction; it may dredge shipways, channels, slips, basins and turning basins in and to the Mississippi River--Gulf Outlet, and other waters within the district except the Mississippi River; it may use the dredging spoil in any manner necessary to enhance the port, harbor and terminal development subject to reasonable economic restraints; it may establish, operate and maintain in cooperation with the federal government, the state of Louisiana and its various agencies, subdivisions and public bodies, navigable waterway systems; it may acquire, by purchase, lease or otherwise, industrial plant sites and necessary property or appurtenances therefor; it may lease as lessor, sublessor, or assignor, for processing, manufacturing, commercial and business purposes, lands or buildings owned, acquired or leased as lessee by it, which leases may run for a term not exceeding forty years at a fixed rental, but may run for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years provided they shall contain a clause or clauses for readjustment of the rentals upon the expiration of a primary term of forty years; it may mortgage properties constructed or acquired by it; it may mortgage and pledge any lease or leases and the rents, income and other advantages arising out of any lease or leases granted, assigned or subleased by it; it may borrow from any person or corporation using or renting any facility of the district such sums as shall be necessary to improve the same and to erect and construct such improvements, and agree that the loan therefor shall be liquidated by deducting from the rent, dockage, wharfage or tollage charges payable for such property, a percentage thereof to be agreed on, subject, however, to any covenants or agreements made with the holders of revenue bonds issued under the authority hereinafter set forth; it may maintain proper depth of water to accommodate the business of the district; provide mechanical facilities and equipment for use in connection with the wharves, sheds, and other structures; provide lights, water and other utilities for the district and for all port, harbor and terminal facilities situated therein; and make reasonable charges and collect the same for the use of all structures, works and facilities administered by the board, and for any and all services rendered by the board; it may regulate reasonably the fees and charges made by privately owned wharves, docks, warehouses, elevators, and other facilities within the limits of the district when the same are offered for the use of the public.

B. All buildings, railroads, wharves, elevators, and other structures, equipment and facilities hereinabove referred to are declared to be works of public improvement and title thereto shall vest in the public.

C. Riparian owners or their lessees of property along the banks of navigable waterways within the limits of the district may, with the consent of the board, and in conformity to plans and specifications approved by the board, erect and maintain on the batture or banks owned by them such wharves, buildings or improvements as may be required for public or private purposes; but in all cases, such wharves, buildings or improvements shall remain subject to the administration and control of the board with respect to their maintenance and to the fees and charges to be exacted for their use by the public. The board may expropriate without compensation any private wharves, landings, buildings or other structures erected by riparian owners or their lessees on such waterways whenever such wharves, landings, buildings or other structures have been erected by the riparian owners subsequent to January 1, 1961, without first obtaining the consent of the board for the construction or erection of the same, and its approval of the plans and specifications for their construction or erection.

D.(1) The board shall have the power to reasonably regulate the fees and charges for the structures, works, and facilities administered by the board and all services rendered by it and shall have the duty to collect such fees, rates, or other charges whether established by lease, tariff, or other agreement provided however such fees and charges for the use of such facilities or other services in the course of regulation of international commerce, the board shall not be empowered to impose nor shall it collect any fee, assessment, rate, or other charge whether established by lease, tariff, or other agreement in an amount less than those imposed by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, whether by lease, tariff, or other agreement as they may be amended, revised, or applied by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans; or with the consent of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.

(2) Leases of facilities administered by the board shall require that the lessee publish a tariff containing rates and charges consistent with the board's tariff except with the consent of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.

(3) The board shall not grant any preference, concession, or reduction in any charges for facilities or services in the course of the regulation of international commerce greater than those granted in the same circumstance by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, whether by lease, tariff, or other agreement as they may be amended or revised or applied by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans or with, consent of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.

E. The board shall have the power to reasonably regulate the commerce and traffic of the district, impose rules and regulations, set requirements, performance, safety, environmental, and facility standards and generally provide for the conduct of such activities whether established by lease, tariff, or other agreement provided however that such regulation by the board in the course of the regulation of international commerce, the board shall not be empowered to impose any regulation inconsistent than those imposed in the same circumstance by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans whether by lease, tariff, or other agreement as the same may be amended or revised or applied by the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.

Added by Acts 1960, No. 228, §1. Amended by Acts 1982, No. 839, §1; Acts 1992, No. 40, §1.